Hi, thanks for the replies.
Richard, I get what you are saying about a £1000 CD player, however, my current player is the oldest component in the system and spending a fair bit on a new machine will hopefully future proof later upgrades; namely speakers and amp. If I went Audiolab CDQ, I could later add in power amps and the DAC is there for the move over to music streaming from the Mac
The MA RS6 were not great when I first bought them (Upgraded from B&W 602s3) When I did a demo, I loved the MA's but they just sounded hard in the midrange when I got them home. I couldn't return them because I bought them online at cheaper price than the dealer offered (Lesson leanrned!) I was also running an Arcam A65+ at this time which didn't provide enough juice.
I later upgraded to a second hand Arcam A22 amp, which improved things dramatically, but I still found the problems with the MA's; namely harsh mids. It took me a long time to realise the importance of room acoustics and by investing in a pair of granit chopping boards, using rear port bungs and moving the speakers out from the rear wall and nearer to each other transformed the sound. Now the issue seems to be everything is a little too smooth. However with nicely recorded CD's the system is impressive, paticularly with acoustic music.
My hope is that a new CDP will find a little more detail, increase dynamics but still remain smooth. I am also keen on having a system that will allow music streaming as I think this is the future.
I called in at Nottingham HIFI today (Went to Sevenoaks first, but they have closed for good! Sorry I didn't purchase my speakers from you, looks like online retailers have destroyed a lot of local shops) I was advised that the Audiolab CDQ would be a significant upgrade from my Arcam CD82. He also suggested the Naim player (CD5?) I am popping back next week for a demo and will take my CDP to see if there is much difference. He also suggested the Arcam DAC or Rega DAC using the CD82 as a transport, so suggestions similar to what you guys are coming up with.
Would the Rega or Arcam Dacs provide a significant upgrade from my current CD82?
If we are saying the MA's are the weak link, would a pair of speaker provide more of an upgrade in terms of sound while keeping current amplification and source?